This is a calling on song, used by morris dancers which may also have been associated with mummers, ploughshare, and longsword traditions. A note at the end of the song, in the hand of Thomas Bell, reveals that the song was copied from an old manuscript, which was supposed to have been written in the time of Charles II. This song forms part of a fascinating selection of material relating to pitmen and keelmen of the North East. The collection was compiled by Thomas Bell, the less well known brother of the collector of Northumbrian traditional song, John Bell. Little is known of Thomas other than his work as a surveyor, but his interest in the collection of local song seems more than evident from his painstaking inlaying and mounting of some 140 pages of material. The collection comprises largely of songs taken from broadsides, chapbooks and manuscripts, but also includes some rare cuttings, descriptions and illustrations of the subject matter. This is a unique collection and perhaps one of the earliest examples of a collecter of traditional song devoting his energies solely to one aspect of regional life. |
